Take a voyage through the history of the world’s most beloved liner

There has been no more beloved liner than Queen Elizabeth 2. A legendary Cunarder, she was the last trans-Atlantic liner to be built on British Soil. She was constructed at the historic John Brown & Co. Shipyard in Clydebank (Scotland) and her keel was laid on 5th July 1965.

Her maiden voyage left Southampton on 2nd May 1969 bound for New York, marking the start of a career that lasted nearly 40 years. She enjoyed a unique and varied career including service as a troop ship in the Falklands War – during which she sailed over 14,900 miles! QE2 always kept up with the times, and enjoyed many refurbishments, including a mammoth re-engine programme in 1986/87 and a headline grabbing refurbishment in 1994 – after which she emerged as an elegant English Country House at sea ready to face the 21st Century.

In November 2008 QE2 retired after enjoying a gala farewell season. Her final destination was Dubai, UAE where her new owners, Nakheel, intended to use her as the centrepiece of a hotel complex at The Palm Jumeriah.

The QE2 Story is a concise history of QE2, the greatest Ocean Liner of our time – it shares with the reader the history of QE2, from the conception of Q4 and the laying of keel no. 736, to her final years and retirement.